Final Fantasy XIII's Release Date Confirmed A Rammed Q1, 2010.

The first quarter of next year is absolutely chock-a-block. If I just construct a list of  games coming early next year that automatically spring to mind, we're looking at: MAG, Bayonetta, Heavy Rain, Dante's Inferno, Dark Void, White Knight Chronicles, Final Fantasy XIII, God Of War III, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and possibly even Gran Turismo 5. Plus there's a host of other games that didn't even jump into my mind. Something has to give right?

God Of War III is a big, big game. But it comes to something when you worry for its performance. It's going to have to stand right next to Final Fantasy XIII now. Sure, different genre and different game - but money and time aren't infinite for most of us. People are going to have to pick between games next Quarter, and that means that, inevitably, good games are going to be sent out to die.

Many games were pulled into Q1 to avoid the Modern Warfare 2 hype train just this week. That's now come and gone, and with just Assassin's Creed II and The Saboteur on the horizon, I'm sure many publishers kinda wished they hadn't committed to delays. Of course, no company wants their game to go directly against something like Modern Warfare 2, but at this point, their game is now wedged in between a list of other games. Sure, none of the games from Quarter 1 (Final Fantasy XIII aside) quite match the expectation levels of Modern Warfare 2, but it's the sheer depth of them that's going to cause a problem.

That's making me wonder if there's going to be another exodus. I can already imagine Sony pulling Gran Turismo 5 back until May or something even if it's ready in March. The problem is the consumer's wallet. I look at the list of games above and there's really not one I want to miss out on. But I'm going to have to. How could I afford to buy them all on launch day? And even if I could afford them, where would I find the time to play them all?

Good games are going to be sent out to die. And unlike the usual Q4 congestion, there'll be no Christmas spirit to save them in Q1. The question is, can publishers afford to delay again?

“Twiggy” is an anonymous PushSquare columnist who has been spotted in three major cities across the globe. It’s rumoured he’s on the run from the British monarchy who accused him of treason.

Previous entries in the “Twiggy” range: